Women as a rule pay more for hairdresser services than men. This constantly stimulates discussion concerning gender equality and spawns complaints to the Ombudsman for Equality.
The Ombudsman for Equality and the Consumer Ombudsman have together called for barbers and hairdressers to stop discriminative pricing and instead base prices on the amount of time required for service as well as factors involving quality and skill. The same message was sent to the field as early as 1993.
Hairdressers and barbers can price their services freely. Prices are influenced by the amount of work required for service and also professional skill, the difficulty of the job, materials used and the location of the shop. The Ombudsman for Equality and the Consumer Ombudsman emphasize that pricing should depend on the service performed for the customer, not gender.
Discrimination in pricing has also been discussed in the EU. A Directive that was issued in December 2004 means that businesses cannot charge men and women different prices for goods and services on the basis of gender. In Finland the Act on Equality between Women and Men prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender. Discrimination in business on the basis of gender is also prohibited by the Penal Code.
The Ombudsman for Equality can bring cases involving discrimination in pricing to the attention of the Equality Board. Discrimination in pricing can also be considered an unfair term, which is prohibited by the Consumer Protection Act. The Consumer Ombudsman monitors the fairness of contract terms.